Louis (Gabriel Abraam Samuel Jean) Secretan (15 September 1758 – 24 May 1839) was a Swiss lawyer, politician and

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...

. He published ''Mycologie Suisse'' in 1833, though the names are not regarded as valid unless republished by other authors.

Rolf Singer Rolf Singer (June 23, 1906 – January 18, 1994) was a German mycologist and Taxonomy (biology), taxonomist of gilled mushrooms (agarics). He wrote the book "The Agaricales in Modern Taxonomy (biology), Taxonomy". He fled to various countries d ...

, Robert E. Machol. - “Are Secretan's fungus names valid?”,

Taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

, vol. 26, No 2/3 (May, 1977), pp. 251-255 He was a member of the

Swiss Academy of Sciences The Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) is a Swiss national association founded in 1815.Mission
https://scn ...

Early life and career

Secretan was born on 15 September 1758 in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

to Pierre-Isaac Secretan, a lawyer, and Louise Rolaz du Rosey. He studied Law in Lausanne and at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

, where he received a doctorate in 1780, becoming a lawyer in 1782. Among his clients were

Jacques Necker Jacques Necker (; 30 September 1732 – 9 April 1804) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan banker and statesman who served as List of Finance Ministers of France, finance minister for Louis XVI of France, Louis XVI. He was a reformer, but his innov ...

Germaine de Staël Anne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein (; ; 22 April 176614 July 1817), commonly known as Madame de Staël ( ; ), was a prominent philosopher, woman of letters, and political theorist in both Parisian and Genevan intellectual circles. She was ...

and

Benjamin Constant Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque (25 October 1767 – 8 December 1830), or simply Benjamin Constant, was a Swiss and French political thinker, activist and writer on political theory and religion. A committed republican from 1795, Constant ...

Political career

Secretan began his political career as a member of the

Council of Two Hundred The Councils of Two Hundred (; ), originally "Grand Council" (''Grosser Rat'' or ''Grand Conseil''), were the legislative authorities in four Swiss cities (Zürich, Bern, Fribourg, Basel), as well as in the independent Republic of Geneva The Can ...

of Lausanne. He later held a position in the government of the

Helvetic Republic The Helvetic Republic (; ; ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ma ...

(1798-1803), supporting a

unitary state A unitary state is a (Sovereign state, sovereign) State (polity), state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create or abolish administrative divisions (sub-national or ...

and

Jewish emancipation Jewish emancipation was the process in various nations in Europe of eliminating Jewish disabilities, to which European Jews were then subject, and the recognition of Jews as entitled to equality and citizenship rights. It included efforts withi ...

. After the end of the Republic, Secretan held various political and judicial offices in the new

canton of Vaud Vaud ( ; , ), more formally Canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts; its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms bears the motto "Liberté et patrie" on a white-green bicolou ...

and its capital, Lausanne. He was appointed member of the commission charged with drafting the

Federal Treaty The Federal Treaty (German: ''Bundesvertrag'', French: ''Pacte fédéral'', Italian: ''Patto federale'') was the legal foundation for the new Restoration and Regeneration in Switzerland, Swiss Confederacy of 1815. It came about after interventions ...

, the new Swiss constitution, in 1814. He served as a member of the

Grand Council of Vaud The Grand Council of Vaud () is the legislature of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. Vaud has a unicameral legislature. The Great Council has 150 seats, with members elected every five years. In May 1981, Marguerite ...

from 1803 until his death on 24 May 1839, in Lausanne.

References

1758 births 1839 deaths People from Lausanne Botanists with author abbreviations Swiss mycologists University of Tübingen alumni 19th-century Swiss lawyers 18th-century Swiss politicians 19th-century Swiss politicians {{Switzerland-botanist-stub